This bill requires a general fund appropriation equal to the difference between the statutory maximum school building aid grant amount of $50,000,000 and the state operating budget appropriation for building aid.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 School Building Aid; Grant for School Construction. Amend RSA 198:15-a, IV to read as follows:

IV. Beginning July 1, [2013] 2020, and every fiscal year thereafter, school building aid grants for construction or renovation projects approved by the department of education shall [not exceed] not be less than $50,000,000 per fiscal year [less any debt service payments owed in the fiscal year, unless otherwise provided by an act of the general court]. In addition, each fiscal year, there is hereby appropriated to the department of education for the purpose of making school building aid grants pursuant to this chapter, an amount equal to the difference between $50,000,000 and the state operating budget appropriation for building aid-education, account 06-56-56-561010-6019-77. The governor is authorized to draw a warrant for said sum out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. [School building aid grants shall be funded from appropriations in the state operating budget and] No state bonds shall be authorized or issued for the purpose of funding such school building aid grants.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

This bill amends RSA 198:15-a, by changing the current maximum expenditure for school building aid grants from $50,000,000 per year, including debt service payments, to a minimum expenditure of $50,000,000 per year, not including debt service payments. This bill provides an annual general fund appropriation to the Department of Education in an amount equal to the difference $50,000,000 and the state operating budget appropriation for school building aid. Assuming the state operating budget includes only existing obligations, or “tail payments”, this bill would result in the following increases to state appropriations and expenditures and local revenue:

FY 2020

FY 2021

FY 2022

FY 2023

Proposed Minimum Annual Expenditure

$50,000,000

$50,000,000

$50,000,000

$50,000,000

(Less: Amount Assumed to be in State Operating Budget)

($31,800,000)

($29,100,000)

($27,400,000)

($25,500,000)

Increase to State Appropriation/Expenditures and Local Revenue

$18,200,000

$20,900,000

$22,600,000

$24,500,000

In addition to the increase in state expenditures above, the Department of Education, assuming the moratorium is not reinstated, estimates it will need two new positions to disburse the new money, including: 1) an architect to review plans and provide technical assistant; and 2) a business administrator to assist in calculating school building aid grant percentages, process school building aid applications, and ensure prompt and accurate payments. Additionally, the business administrator would also track, monitor, and report on financial and legislative activity pertaining to school building aid. The positions would both be labor grade 27 and the estimated cost is as follows: